How to Sharpen Kitchen Knives

Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you sharpened your kitchen knives?

If it’s been a while (or never), you don’t know what you’re missing. A sharp kitchen knife is a cook’s best tool.

Using sharp knives makes cooking and food prep so much easier. You use less force when your knives are sharp making it easier to quickly cut and chop. Using a sharp kitchen knife is one of the simplest ways to improve your cooking experience.

All knives dull over time. The more you use them, the more dull they become.

I will show you how to sharpen all of your kitchen knives like a pro in 3 easy steps.

How to Know if Your Smooth Blade Knife is Sharp Enough

Now that you’ve sharpened your knives, you can check to ensure that it’s sufficiently sharp. Take a piece of newspaper or copy paper and fold it but don’t crease it.

Lay the blade of the knife against to the top of the paper, holding it at an angle. Slide the blade outward and if the blade slices the paper cleanly, it’s sharp enough.

How to Keep Your Knives Sharp

Proper storage is the key to keeping knives sharp between uses. We recommend storing your knives in a secure holder or cover.

We don’t recommend storing them unsecured in a drawer. Not only can this be a safety hazard, especially with children, but as knives move around in the drawer, they’ll bump into each other which can cause nicks in the blades.

How Often to Sharpen Knives

How often you sharpen your knives depends on how often they are used and how hard they are used. I like to sharpen my go-to kitchen knife one to two times per week because it gets quite a bit of use.

Serrated knives don’t need to be sharpened as often as smooth blades because the serrations keep most of the dulling friction away from the edges.

You can always use the newspaper test above to determine if your knives need sharpening. And, don’t forget to check your paring knives and steak knives. They, too, will dull over time as they are used.

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Hi, I’m Christina!

I scour the internet, recipe boxes & cookbooks to bring you only the BEST recipes & products that earn my seal of approval. It Is a Keeper is your source for quick, easy and simple recipes for busy families. READMORE…